1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solar heat utilization stirling engine power generation plant using light of the sun requiring no fuel.
2. Description of the Background Art
Various power generation plants have been conventionally provided, and there is generally a power generation plant of an internal combustion engine using a gasoline as a fuel. Further, there has been researched and developed a stirling engine which has no ignition noise and is silently operated as is different from the internal combustion engine.
In accordance with a basic principle of the stirling engine, a power generation is achieved by heating or cooling a working fluid (a working gas) sealed in a cylinder so as to generate a pressure fluctuation and vertically move a piston, thereby converting a vertical motion of the piston into a rotational motion.
In the case of heating the stirling engine mentioned above, a fuel is burned by a burner and a heat thereof is applied to a heating portion, however, in the case of burning the fuel such as the gasoline or the like, carbon dioxide (CO2) is generated.
Accordingly, the light of the sun is considered as a thermal energy for supplying to the heating portion of the stirling engine. In this case, a lot of disc-like reflecting plates having one surface on which reflecting surfaces for reflecting the light of the sun are formed are arranged so as to form a bowl shape as an entire shape, and a stirling engine is arranged on a focal point of a lot of (for example, thirty two sheets of) reflecting plates (mirrors) arranged on a paraboloid thereof.
The reflected lights reflected by a lot of reflecting plates are focused, and the thermal energy thereof is supplied to the heating portion of the stirling engine, thereby heating the heating portion of the stirling engine.
However, in order to arrange a lot of reflecting plates and focus the reflected lights to one point, it is hard to place the reflecting plates, and the focusing cannot make satisfactory progress. Further, there have been problems that the entire apparatus is large-scaled, and an extremely high cost is required.
Further, since the light of the sun is temporarily reflected by the reflecting plates so as to be focused, there are problems that the heat collection is deteriorated, and a temperature cannot be increased any more since a temperature of the heating portion of the stirling engine is about 750xc2x0 C. Accordingly, a power generator can generate only a low output of about 7.5 kW.
Further, in the case of intending to increase the temperature of the heating portion of the stirling engine, for example, up to 1000xc2x0 C. in order to increase the output of the power generation of the stirling engine, it is necessary to further increase the number of the reflecting plates. Accordingly, a huge cost is required together with difficulty in placing the reflecting plates, and a running cost is increased, whereby the power generation plant full of demerits is provided.
In the meantime, the patent document (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-13357) was filed by the applicant of the present invention, and discloses the structure in which the thermal energy of the light of the sun is taken in by using the lens. However, in this case, the patent document describes that a slag is burned by the light of the sun focused by a lens, and the power generation, for example, by a steam turbine is carried out by the thermal energy generated when the slag is burned.
However, when burning the slag, the carbon dioxide is generated in the same manner as mentioned above, and a global warming is caused, thereby acting counter to the recent trend intending to reduce the carbon dioxide (CO2).
In particular, there are various stirling engine power generation plants utilizing the heat obtained by burning a fossil fuel as the heat source, however, it is an actual condition that burning the fossil fuel generates a great problem in view of a global environment pollution and a discharge of global warming gas.
The present invention is made by taking the problem mentioned above into consideration, and present invention provides a solar heat utilization stirling engine power generation plant provided with at least the following objects.
(1) To make a fuel for generating power unnecessary.
(2) To generate no carbon dioxide (CO2) by generating power without burning substance.
(3) To make it possible to supply a hot water at the same time of generating power.
(4) To provide a power generation plant which is less expensive than the conventional power generation plant.
(5) To provide a power generation plant of an environment protection type by making the fuel mentioned above unnecessary and generating no carbon dioxide (CO2).
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a solar heat utilization stirling engine power generation plant comprising:
a Fresnel lens 1 for collecting a solar heat;
a quartz glass light guiding fiber 3 for guiding a heat source collected by the Fresnel lens 1 and having a temperature between about 600xc2x0 C. and about 2000xc2x0 C. to a predetermined place;
a stirling engine 4 driven by the heat source from the light guiding fiber 3; and
a power generator 5 driven by the stirling engine 4.
In accordance with the structure mentioned above, since a fuel for generating the power by the power generator 5 is the light of the sun, no fuel is required, and no substance is burned as is different from the conventional one, so that no carbon dioxide (CO2) is generated. Therefore, it is possible to provide an ideal environment protection type power generation plant. Further, since no cost is required for burning, a running cost is set very low, and it is possible to provide a power generation plant which is less expensive than the conventional power generation plant. Further, since the water cooled in a cooling portion 42 from a water supply pipe 44 becomes a high temperature water and is discharged from a drain pipe 45 during an operation of the stirling engine 4 of the present plant, it is possible to supply the hot water at the same time of generating power.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a solar heat utilization stirling engine power generation plant, further comprising a tracking apparatus 2 for tracking the solar heat.
Accordingly, it is possible to effectively and securely utilize the solar heat.
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a solar heat utilization stirling engine power generation plant, wherein a light receiving portion 31 of the light guiding fiber 3 receiving the solar heat from the Fresnel lens 1 is formed in an approximately conical shape in which a diameter is made larger in accordance with going close to the Fresnel lens 1.
Accordingly, it is possible to change a focusing area on a light receiving surface 32 of the light receiving portion 31 of the light guiding fiber 3 by moving the light receiving portion 31 of the light guiding fiber 3 in the same direction as the focusing direction of the Fresnel lens 1, and it is possible to easily obtain a heat source having a desired temperature, for example, between about 600xc2x0 C. to about 2000xc2x0 C. Therefore, it is possible to correspond to the stirling engine 4 having various outputs, by moving the light guiding fiber 3 in correspondence to the output of the stirling engine 4.